New heights: 11-member women’s team scales Khardung La on scooters

We’re beginning to love this year. First Indian women came home with Olympic medals, now a team of 11 women who set out to conquer the world’s highest motorable road, the Khardung La pass, have done it successfully – on scooters.

Part of the second edition of a road trip show called ‘The Himalayan Highs’, the team was led by solo rider Anam Hashim. They rode the 110 cc TVS Scooty Zest, starting from Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, on August 11, and are now in the India Book of Records for being the first team of Indian women to ride the Khardung La on scooters.

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Scooters are not world-famous for their power, so scaling 18,340 feet on these cheerful little two-wheelers was quite an achievement for both the women and their vehicles.

“It wasn’t an easy ride,” Hashim told The New Indian Express. “Our mental and physical fitness was put to the test with the unpredictable weather and harsh environment.”

“This has been a month of highs for Indian women across the globe and we are happy our riders have also earned glory,” said Aniruddha Haldar, vice president, marketing (scooters), TVS Motor Company. “ These 11 are an example of new age Indian women and an inspiration to those who want to pursue their dreams.”

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The team consisted of Megha Chakraborty from Bilaspur, Kainoor Mistry from Mumbai, Roshni Somkuwar from Nagpur, Garima Kapoor from Lucknow, Ebronah Dorothy from Chennai, Pallavi Fauzdar from Delhi, Antara Pal from Bengaluru, Trupti Sarmalkar from Mumbai, Surbhi Tiwari from Bengaluru and Shruthi Naidu from Bengaluru, as well as Anam Hashim.

Feature Image Credit: Bike Dekho